Melvin Guillard, Phil Davis and 25 MMA Fighters on the Cusp of Greatness

When opportunity knocks, you gotta open that door. And that moment rarely arrives with more urgency —or disappears with more alacrity—than it does for an MMA fighter.

Here are 25 guys who are hearing the knock as we speak, and as such may be on the cusp of greatness. This is a mix of new guys ready to burst onto the scene, established guys ready to become contenders, contenders ready to make championship runs and champions ready to become household names.

All these guys' careers have active forward momentum. Promising fighters who are currently sidelined by major injuries (see Shane del Rosario), or have achieved great things but face limitations through their promotions (think Hector Lombard) probably did not make the cut. 

Please enjoy.

25. Roger Gracie

Weight class:  Light heavyweight
Promotion: Strikeforce
Record: 4-0

Sixty-five wins on the jiu-jitsu circuit and a solid-gold brand name on your birth certificate will get you to the cusp of MMA greatness. A win over Muhammed Lawal at Strikeforce 36 this September will get Gracie to the cusp of a championship belt.

24. Charles Oliveira

Weight class: Lightweight
Promotion: UFC
Record: 14-1-1

The bloom has come off the Oliveira rose over the past six months, following a loss to Jim Miller and an illegal knee strike that turned a win over Nik Lentz into a no-contest ruling.

Nevertheless, the jiu-jitsu black belt seems destined for big things, though he now unexpectedly needs a win in his next fight to keep things moving forward.

23. Papy Abedi

Weight class: Middleweight
Promotion: UFC
Record: 8-0

Just a couple of weeks ago, the UFC signed Abedi to a four-fight contract.

Get ready to see plenty of this sharp-fisted judo expert in Octagon action. With all due respect to Bohumil Lungrik, it would be nice to see Abedi face an opponent who could make him sweat.

22. Marcos Rogerio De Lima

Weight class: Light heavyweight
Promotion:  First Class Fight/Strikeforce
Record: 8-0

Back in October, de Lima outpointed Paulo Filho for his eighth straight victory. What made the victory remarkable wasn’t that de Lima was able to handle his toughest MMA test to date. It was that Filho, in a first for de Lima's opponents, avoided a striking-related stoppage.

The impressive run has earned him a shot with Strikeforce. No word yet on when he’ll debut.

21. Chris Weidman

Weight class:  Middleweight
Promotion:  UFC
Record: 6-0

A standout college wrestler and a student of Matt Serra, this Long Island, NY native has yet to be seriously challenged in his MMA career. Here’s hoping the UFC can change that with his next fight. Because whether you think he’s good or good-lookin’ or funny or what, you should get ready to see more of Chris Weidman real soon.

20. Marlon Sandro

Weight class: Featherweight
Promotion: Bellator
Record: 18-2

If he can win Bellator's summer featherweight tournament—and he seems to be on a collision course with Joe Warren for that distinction—he’ll be one of the fastest-rising stars in one of MMA's fastest-rising weight classes.

19. Tyron Woodley

Weight class:  Welterweight
Promotion: Strikeforce
Record:  8-0

The thunder-fisted welterweight gets the kind of matchup he has long awaited when he faces a hungry Paul Daley at Strikeforce: Fedor vs. Henderson.

18. Renan Barao

Weight class: Bantamweight
Promotion: UFC
Record: 26-1-1

The Brazilian bantamweight and WEC transfer is now 1-0 in the Octagon. I think the fact that he hasn’t lost in almost six years may have stayed the old nerves in his UFC debut.

Get this man Brad Pickett, post-haste.

17. Donald Cerrone

Weight class: Lightweight
Promotion: UFC
Record: 15-3-1

Back in the WEC, Cerrone thrice found himself on the cusp, only to find himself a championship bridesmaid soon after.

The Cowboy came up short in losses to then-beltholders Ben Henderson and Jamie Varner, but the Muay Thai and submissions specialist has gotten back on the horse each time.

He has often expressed a desire to be great, as well as a confidence that he is well on the way to achieving it. An August tangle with Paul Taylor will reveal a lot about Cerrone’s location within the UFC’s standing-room-only lightweight division, but his four-fight win streak recommends him not only for his ability, but his resilence.

16. Brian Stann

Weight class: Middleweight
Promotion: UFC
Record: 11-3

The articulate, stone-handed ex-Marine seems readymade for MMA stardom. A fourth consecutive win in the UFC's middleweight division could put him among some rarefied company.

15. Gegard Mousasi

Weight class: Light heavyweight
Promotion:  Strikeforce/DREAM
Record: 30-3-2

First and foremost, “The Dreamcatcher” needs a new nickname.

Second, he needs to defend his DREAM light heavyweight title against Hiroshi Izumi July 16.

Third, he needs to either rematch with Keith Jardine (and earn the victory he probably should have gotten the first time) or face a major step up in competition. (Rafael Cavalcante or a rematch with King Mo Lawal, perhaps.)

Then, he can focus on his goal of representing The Netherlands on his home nation's 2012 Olympic boxing team.

Hard to know where the ceiling currently lies for Fedor Emelianenko’s 25-year-old training partner, but that could just mean it's pretty high up there.

14. Daniel Cormier

Weight class:  Heavyweight
Promotion: Strikeforce
Record: 8-0

This 5’ 10”, 240-pound bowling ball of Olympic wrestling excellence is a load for anyone to handle. These days, he's proving that against steadily improving competition, most notably Jeff Monson in his last engagement. 

But what makes Cormier exciting is more than just his world-class athletic pedigree; five of his eight wins have come on striking-related stoppages.

13. Michael McDonald

Weight class: Bantamweight
Promotion: UFC
Record: 13-1

Mayday has not dropped a fight since he was barely old enough to vote.

He's still not old enough to buy a beer, but you'd never know it by his ferocity and remarkable self-possession in the cage.

12. Edson Barboza

Weight class: Lightweight
Promotion: UFC
Record: 8-0

This Muay Thai wrecking machine recently best Anthony Njoukani, an impressive and promising fighter in his own right.

We’ll see what Barboza can do against British fire hydrant Ross Pierson this August in Rio.

11. Joseph Benavidez

Weight class:  Bantamweight
Promotion:  UFC
Record:  14-2

After Dominick Cruz defeated Urijah Faber last weekend at UFC 132, Faber teammate Benavidez may be in line to provide a new challenge, and a measure of revenge, sooner rather than later.

A strong and smart submission grappler, Benavidez could prove an interesting foil to Cruz's wacky stick-and-move standup. Even if not, Benavidez brings a rare combination to the Octagon: a dominant ground fighter who is also exciting to the casual fan.

Benavidez would also be a strong contender right away if he chose to compete in the UFC’s flyweight division (assuming they make that happen).

10. Mark Munoz

Weight class:  Middleweight
Promotion:  UFC
Record: 11-2

The teacher is about to become the hunter. Or something like that.

Munoz is a national champion collegiate wrestler who has poured his knowledge of matcraft into his thriving training center, which can claim Jason “Mayhem” Miller, Urijah Faber and Wanderlei Silva among its pupils. But Munoz and his TNT-wired hands seem ready for the real thing. His name is already being bandied about as someone whose wrestling would provide a stylistic challenge to Anderson Silva.

9. Demetrious Johnson

Weight class:  Bantamweight
Promotion:  UFC
Record: 10-1

Traditionally regarded as a good, if unremarkable, prospect at 135 pounds, Mighty Mouse changed a lot of minds after defeating Damacio Page, Norifumi “Kid” Yamamoto and Miguel Torres in succession.

The run has been so successful, in fact, that Johnson’s name is in the mix to get the next shot at the UFC bantamweight belt, possibly leapfrogging mainstay contender and former WEC champ Brian Bowles.

If the oft-discussed UFC flyweight division does materialize, Johnson could also be an instant favorite to drop 10 pounds and compete for that title.

8. Melvin Guillard

Weight class: Lightweight
Promotion: UFC
Record: 29-8-2-1

After his one-round whomping of Shane Roller at UFC 132 last weekend, Guillard showed he may—finally—be ready for his closeup. 

The well-rounded knockout artist from New Orleans is a stiff test for anyone when he’s on his game, so it’s unfortunate for opponents that that focus and preparation now appear to be constants.

The UFC should oblige Guillard's ambitions and fast-track him to the upper ranks of the division. He has earned as much.

7. Ronny Markes

Weight class:  Light heavyweight
Promotion:  Shooto/UFC
Record: 11-1

The Shooto light heavyweight champ got the call of a lifetime recently when he was asked to replace the injured Stephan Bonnar this August at UFC on Versus 5 and take on Karlos Vemola.

It's a deafening knock of opportunity for Markes, but perhaps it's Vemola who should be nervy. Marks has taken all but two of his victories by stoppage, and all but four in the first round.

A win on Versus could be the launching pad this Brazilian needs to become (and remain) rooted on the UFC's light heavyweight landscape.

6. Jim Miller

Weight class: Lightweight
Promotion: UFC
Record: 20-2

The pride of Sparta, N.J., Miller’s hit list includes Charles Oliveira, Mark Bocek, Gleison Tibau and Mac Danzig.

He has another legit test in August against Ben Henderson, but still seems to be waiting for that truly elite opponent. Clay Guida? Melvin Guillard?

5. Rory “Ares” MacDonald

Weight class: Welterweight
Promotion: UFC
Record: 11-1

The darling of the hardcore set seems primed to explode almost anytime. And that's not entirely metaphoric. With all but one of his wins by stoppage, this well-rounded, 21-year-old Georges St-Pierre protege seems capable of just about anything in the cage.

As with Cerrone before, MacDonald has displayed impressive resilience thus far. The only blemish on his record came at the hands of Carlos Condit (who at UFC 132 took another step up his own ladder by wrecking Dong Hyun Kim).  MacDonald put on a fight-of-the-night effort in the loss, however, falling just short of going the distance with one of his division's top contenders. 

More impressively, however, was his next bout against Nate Diaz. All MacDonald did in that one was suplex(!) Diaz three times in the first round en route to a convincing decision win. Rebound accomplished.

If he can take care of business against Mike Pyle at UFC 133, MacDonald will again be ready for a top dog at 170. In my opinion, it's fairly likely he'll dispose of Pyle and vault himself into contender status, not to mention living rooms, for some time to come. 

4. Antonio Silva

Weight class:  Heavyweight
Promotion:  Strikeforce
Record: 16-2

Antonio Silva is in the process of converting his potential energy into kinetic.

Call me crazy, but Bigfoot is, in my mind, the favorite to defeat Alistair Overeem and company and win the Strikeforce heavyweight tournament.

Doing so may put him on a fast track into the UFC, where he sheds a key word (I'll let you guess which one) from his unofficial tagline as "one of the best heavyweight prospects in MMA."

3. Hatsu Hioki

Weight class:  Featherweight
Promotion:  Shooto/UFC
Record: 24-4-2

In June, he vacated the Shooto belt for greener, more Octagonal pastures.

He may face a warmup fight or two just to keep busy, but by and large Hioki and his second-to-none submission game would appear to be the favorite to challenge (and maybe overcome) the winner between Kenny Florian and Jose Aldo in the suddenly scintillating UFC featherweight division.

2. Phil Davis

Weight class:  Light heavyweight
Promotion: UFC
Record: 9-0

No one on this list is any cuspier than Phil Davis.

Heading into his first pay-per-view main event at UFC 133, Davis is both undefeated and unchallenged in his MMA career. He'll have a strong test against Rashad Evans, with the winner in line for a shot at Jon Jones' belt.

You may already have heard of Jon Jones, so I'll bypass that introduction. Back to Davis, then. As a national wrestling champion and a freak athlete (his 79" reach is only a few inches shorter than that of Jones), the 26-year-old Davis has the skill set, strength and confidence to match up with the sport's greatest phenom.

Evans is a terrific fighter, but may not be in the same ultra-elite category as Davis or Jones. In fact, I think those are the only two guys in there. Perhaps that's why so many people are banking on Davis to dispatch Evans so that this decade's real rivalry at light heavyweight can begin.

1. Dominick Cruz

Weight class:  Bantamweight
Promotion:  UFC
Record:  18-1

I know, I know. He's already the champ. So how much more greatness can he achieve that he hasn't already?

I'll tell you how much: plenty, that's how much.

Dominick Cruz is not yet known in the public in the same way as are many of his champion-level contemporaries--including his vanquished UFC 132 opponent, Urijah Faber. But that may be about to change, and fast.

Cruz has a wacky but very entertaining boxing style in the ring. His evasiveness is unsurpassed. He is, to the outside observer, a thoughtful guy who respects the sport and wants to be a great champion.

Now, with an epic rubber match with Faber looming, a slew of worthy challengers on the horizon and perhaps a superfight with Jose Aldo in the works, Cruz could be on the cusp of a lot more than MMA success, or even a hall-of-fame run. He could be poised to become the sport's next great crossover superstar.